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Carson blew out a breath. “Guys like that don’t grow up for a long time. Some of them never do. They end up hurting others and leaving hurricane-like destruction in their paths.”
“Yeah, I understand that now,” Evie said. “Loud and clear. I mean, I almost had my first kiss from a guy who probably doesn’t even know my last name.”
She covered her mouth and mumbled, “I didn’t mean to say that.”
Carson glanced over at her. Had she just said . . . was it possible? “What part didn’t you mean to say? The not knowing the last name part or . . .”
Evie bolted from the chair and took off around the house.
“Evie,” Carson said. “Where are you going?” He followed, jogging around the house to barely catch up with her as she reached for the handle of her car door.
She opened the door, but before she could slip inside and drive away, Carson grasped her arm. “Evie?”
She turned to face him, and he dropped his hand. Her eyes were wide, as if she were spooked about something.
She folded her arms. “I don’t know why I told you that. Becca barely found out the other day. If you say anything, to anyone, so help me . . .”
Her voice was trembling, and Carson didn’t know what to make of it. “I won’t say anything. Besides, who would I tell?”
“All you have to do is tell one person in Prosper, and everyone will know it,” Evie said, her voice cracking.
Carson raised both his hands. “I swear, I won’t say a thing.”
Evie stared at him, and he gazed right back.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She exhaled and unfolded her arms. Then she wiped at her cheeks.
Was she crying now? Carson had no idea what to do.
“You probably think I’m overreacting,” she said in a quiet voice, wiping at her cheeks again, “and you probably think I’m a bratty sister to my brothers. But they . . . they’re part of the reason that I never dated before college, except for one lousy prom that went completely wrong. And it’s probably why I’m making poor choices about guys now.”
Carson wanted to dry her tears, maybe pull her into a hug, but he could feel the tension radiating from her. And he didn’t want her to think he was coming onto her, even though she looked beautiful in the moonlight. “I don’t think you’re a bratty sister, Evie. You should have seen how my brother and I fought. I mean, we were always bickering about something.”
She seemed too distressed and caught up in her own emotional turmoil to catch onto his past tense referral of his brother. Her gaze had slipped away, and she was biting her lip.
“Look,” Carson said. “I don’t want to stir up things between you and your brothers. If you don’t want me over at the ranch tomorrow, then I’ve got plenty to do with my grandad.”
Her gaze lifted, and her brows arched. “They invited you over?”
“Yeah.”
She bit that pretty lip of hers again, and Carson wondered how in the world, whether in high school or in all her years at college, this woman had never been kissed. But right now, he knew it wasn’t a question he could pursue. She was still upset.
“Hey,” he hedged. “Your brothers are good guys from what I know, and they’re just protective, even though it comes across as strong. I mean, they wouldn’t drill a guy you’re going out with unless they cared.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I know. They care too much, though.”
Carson tried not to smile, but failed.
“You’re laughing at me,” Evie said, her eyes narrowing.
“I’m not laughing at you,” he said. “You’re just adorable when you scrunch up your face like that.”
Now, she glowered. “You did not just say that.”
